Furniture violence is one of the underreported plagues of our time. I am the survivor of an assault by a park bench that left me with a bone bruise that took two and a half months to heal. Other Farkers have reported similar stories. We otto bring this story to light, man!

Nogale:Furniture violence is one of the underreported plagues of our time. I am the survivor of an assault by a park bench that left me with a bone bruise that took two and a half months to heal. Other Farkers have reported similar stories. We otto bring this story to light, man!

Stephen_Falken:Heh, that's nothing. My friends and I killed a Ford Pinto and left it steaming in a ditch in 1980.

True story about a Ford Pinto...

My buddy and I were on our way to the midnight movies. There is one particularly bad curve you have to take along the way. So if you're not familiar with the road, you will deffinitely spin out, and likely flip your car.

So, there is this upside down Ford Pinto about 20 yards off the road. And two dudes are sitting there doing whippits (nitrous oxide). So, we gave them a ride. And of course we had to laugh at them for their misfortune. Only because the car didn't explode, as they are prone to do.

I can totally see where she's coming from. I find it is conducive to proper yard equipment operation to periodically make an example of one piece of equipment for the others, just so they know what happens if they don't cooperate. Weed whackers are typically the most unruly of my machines so every few years one is violently dismantled in front of the others. As a result, the lawn mower, chain saw, and leaf blower have worked flawlessly for years and my car always starts.

JerkStore:I can totally see where she's coming from. I find it is conducive to proper yard equipment operation to periodically make an example of one piece of equipment for the others, just so they know what happens if they don't cooperate. Weed whackers are typically the most unruly of my machines so every few years one is violently dismantled in front of the others. As a result, the lawn mower, chain saw, and leaf blower have worked flawlessly for years and my car always starts.

kvinesknows:ya know.. there is a reason MODERN stepladders have a note saying DONT STEP ON TOP STEP.

Isn't that a balance issue, not so much a prone to breaking issue? The problem in this case is a wooden ladder, which according to family, could be up to 50 years old. That thing breaking was just a matter of time.

LordBeavis:I'm confused by what the hell a town crier is. The picture didn't help much. Is it really some jagweed that goes around ringing a bell?

The town crier was the equivalent of the public announcement system back in the days when most people were illiterate, paper was extremely expensive, etc...

He'd announce court proclamations, sentences, law changes, public service announcements, etc... For a fee he could also announce more personal stuff - hiring, selling, weddings, etc...

Homer's picture with a tricorn hat and a bell is accurate, though the coat would be much more elaborate of course.He'd ring the bell while shouting 'Oyez Oyez', which means roughly 'shut up and pay attention!', then give the announcement once enough people were paying attention.

The position is apparently experiencing something of a renaissance right now. Giving good local announcements is more difficult as less people are listening to radio and most radio stations aren't local anymore anyways.